Folio of the Fiends

We’re right in the midst of Fiend Week here at Necromancers of the Northwest. Anyone who’s read a little Planescape knows that when it comes to evil outsiders (or any type of outsider, for that matter), their philosophy is what’s really important. Everyone knows that devils are all about the corruption and control, while demons just want to destroy, but now that there are so many other evil outsiders running around, who can remember what the difference between divs and asuras and rakshasas really is, anyway?

Today’s spells are inspired by the philosophies of these three groups of fiends, though they don’t have much to do with them mechanically (after all, who needs yet another way to summon evil outsiders)?

You channel all the hatred and resentment of the asuras into a single beam of black energy. You must make a ranged touch attack. If the attack hits, it deals 1d6 points of damage per caster level, or 1d8 points of damage per caster level if the target is a divine spellcaster, or is otherwise a direct agent of a deity. If the damage inflicted by the spell is sufficient to kill the creature, he is destroyed utterly, without a trace, as is all of his gear and equipment. Further, if he is destroyed in this way, the destruction affects not only his body but his very soul, and unless he succeeds on a Will save, his soul is also destroyed, preventing him from being resurrected until a wish or miracle is used to restore his soul.

Finally, if the target survives, and he is a divine spellcaster, he must succeed on a Will save or lose his spellcasting ability for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your caster level.

If you are a divine spellcaster, the spell also inflicts 1d4 points of damage per caster level to you as you cast it, even if the ray misses its target.

Divs delight in the corruption and perversion of all things created by mortals, and spells are no exception. They created this spell to wreak havoc with the spells of mortals, as it inverts helpful magic, making it harmful instead. Any alchemical, armor, circumstance, competence, deflection, dodge, enhancement, insight, luck, morale, natural armor, profane, racial, resistance, sacred, shield, or size bonus that the target is currently being granted by a spell or spell-like ability turns into a penalty of the same type and amount, instead (for example, a mage armor spell would be altered to impose a -4 armor penalty to AC). Similarly, any spell that grants resistance or immunity to a damage type causes the target to suffer half again as much damage (150%) from that energy type, instead, and any spell that offers damage reduction similarly causes the target to suffer half again as much damage (150%) from all types of damage to which damage reduction would normally apply.

The target suffers a penalty on his Will save to resist this spell equal to the number of spells currently affecting him whose effects would be altered by this spell. Divs are immune to this spell, and spells and spell-like abilities cast by divs are unaffected by the spell, even if they are cast on other creatures.

The rakshasa seek, above all, to rule and control the Material Plane, and believe in a rigid and exploitative caste system. It is no surprise then that this spell, which grants the powerful great control over the weak, is attributed to the rakshasa. This functions as dominate person, except as indicated here. For every 3 points by which your caster level exceeds the target’s Hit Dice, the target suffers a -1 penalty on his saving throw, and for every point by which your caster level exceeds his Hit Dice, the spell’s duration increases by 1 day. However, the reverse is also true: for every 3 points by which the target’s Hit Dice exceed your caster level, the target gains a +1 bonus on his saving throw, and for every point by which his Hit Dice exceed your caster level, the spell’s duration decreases by 1 day.

Additionally, if you order the subject to take actions against its nature, it receives a new saving throw, as normal, but it does not receive a +2 bonus, and, if the subject succeeds on the saving throw, there is only a 50% chance that the spell is ended; otherwise, the target simply refuses to carry out that particular order, but otherwise remains under the caster’s control (any future orders along the same lines are automatically refused, without a new Will save).